Pumping at Work- not a lot of milk

Hi! My first time here! I exclusively breastfeed my son. I went back to work at 12 weeks and have been pumping while at work ever since. When I am with him, I breastfeed him. Lately, I have not been pumping a lot while at work- about 1/2 of what I did at first. I drink the tea, I have his picture here, I relax while pumping, but not a lot comes out. When I am with him on the weekends, I do not have to supplement with frozen BM, so I know I can produce enough for him. Just worrying now that my frozen breastmilk will give out before 1 year (my goal) since I am supplementing my freshly expressed milk with some I froze in the beginning. Any idea's on other things that could make me make more milk while at work? Thanks in advance!

Re: Pumping at Work- not a lot of milk

Hi! If youve been pumping with the same pump for awhile, you might get new valve parts. They wear out. It's worth checking the other connections, too -- and even considering the sad fact that pump motors don't last like they should.
Clearly I'm suggesting the problem is the pump, not you. That said, milk supplies do regulate over time...

Kate

Mother to a sweet boy, born at 34 weeks on 2/11/11.
Proud that I grew 26 lbs of baby before solids, and still counting...

Re: Pumping at Work- not a lot of milk

He is 7 months old. I nurse him at 5:00 am and again at 7:30 am, drop him off and go to work until 6:00 pm. I nurse him as soon as I get home (6:00 p.m) and again before bed (7:30 - 8:00 pm). I pump about 8 ounces a day now. I pump a total of 3 times, 10 am, 1 pm and 4 pm. He eats around 16- 20 ounces a day from bottles. When I first returned to work, I was pumping aourn 24 ounces. It has slowly gone down since then. Thanks for any responses!

Re: Pumping at Work- not a lot of milk

So there are about 10.5 hours between nursings? How big are the bottles you are leaving behind? The rule of thumb is between 1 and 1.5 ounces per hour while you are away. So that would be between 10.5 and 16 ounces per day. 20 ounces is a lot!

have you thought about pumping after he goes to bed? How long do you pump?

Re: Pumping at Work- not a lot of milk

I should probably pump after I put him to bed! But honestly, I'm not up but about 30 minutes longer than him. He is still unpredictable with his sleep. So, some nights I nurse him 3 times and some nights he sleeps from 8 pm - 5 am.

I get a 15 minute break in the am to pump. I pump for my whole 30 minute lunch break, then I have about 20 - 25 minutes at 4 pm.

Re: Pumping at Work- not a lot of milk

Wow, sometimes he sleeps from 8-5?!?! I can't imagine. I mean, wow! It does make me think that he could drink a little less during the day if you want him to nurse more at night -- which would probably up your supply. But if you need the sleep, it seems like a good arrangement. (I would love just one night like that!) Did you check the pump? (and did you buy the pump new? if not, you really may be feeling the effects of crappy consumer grade electronics) There's another thread open with a similar issue right now, and a poster advised her to rent a hospital-grade pump for a while -- it's not a bad idea -- it might help you build your stash back up while you figure out if there's a problem with your pump.

Kate

Mother to a sweet boy, born at 34 weeks on 2/11/11.
Proud that I grew 26 lbs of baby before solids, and still counting...

Re: Pumping at Work- not a lot of milk

How would you feel about lowering what he gets during the day and adding in a pump session on the weekends? 24 ounces is a pretty heavy case of oversupply, which is what you were doing at the beginning.

My babies are down around 8 pm and I go to bed at 9 pm (and then nurse all night long), so I get what you're saying about not wanting to pump in the evenings.